I watched Dust Bunny as part of Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque. You can check out the full schedule here.

Every once in a while, a movie idea comes out of nowhere and makes you go “damn, why didn’t I think of that?”. In the 2020’s there have been a couple, mixing vampires and moonshine like in Sinners or taking Freaky Friday and adding a slasher in Freaky, but the idea of Dust Bunny is so ingenious and downright adorable, that it blows those away. Dust Bunny tells the story of an eight-year-old girl named Aurora who asks her neighbor, who is a hitman, to kill the monster under her bed that she thinks ate her family. It stars Mad Mikkelsen as the hitman or concerned neighbor, depending on who you ask, Sophie Sloan as Aurora, Sigourney Weaver as a mysterious contact for the hitman, and features David Dastmalchian, Rebecca Henderson, and Sheila Atim.

Of course, it comes from the mind of Bryan Fuller, who did great TV like Hannibal and Pushing Daisies, but this is his first time directing a feature film. It doesn’t feel like a first-time director, though. He hits the ground running, showing off a distinct visual style and aesthetic that makes the film absolutely pop off the screen. Fuller and Co. put so much beautiful imagery on display that it almost distracts from the story, but it doesn’t ever cross that threshold.

There’s a strange mashup of genres going on here that should really not work, but ends up working fabulously. It has Amblin-style heartwarming kid stuff, there’s almost gun-fu high-ball action, there’s horror because of the monster-under-the-bed angle; it really has it all. There’s so much style and plenty of substance throughout the film. Once again, I’m shocked at how a first-time feature can balance all of these things out and thread the needle perfectly.

Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic in his role as the hitman. He plays the part like anyone would, being thrust into a situation with a newly orphaned little girl, but he adds so much charm to the role. You can feel his warmth coming off the screen as he talks to Aurora and gets ever so close to breaking down at points, but never does. His reactions when the monster is revealed are priceless. For all the good that Mikkelsen does, Sophie Sloan’s turn as Aurora steals the whole movie. She’s hilarious, spunky, and commands the screen like someone who would be 30 years older than she is. The movie would not work if Aurora weren’t as great as she is.

Outside of those two, the performances from Dastmalchian and Henderson, albeit in a very tiny amount of screentime, are fantastic. They’re rival hitmen of Mads, who end up entangled in the whole plot to kill the monster. They’re absolutely hilarious and clueless as they enter a world where a dust bunny monster is actually real.

Sigourney Weaver plays a mysterious contact of Mikkelsen’s. She’s smarmy, domineering, and talks down to Aurora as the movie goes on. She’s fantastic in this role as a sort of side-villain to the actual villain of the movie. Sheila Atim is also solid as an FBI agent/CPS worker who ends up involved with the case of Aurora.

The design of the actual monster another highlight. As an R-rated “kids movie”, it provides almost exactly what you’d think a monster like this would look like. It’s frightening, but in that 80s kids movie way, that’s like 51% frightening, 49% adorable.

Overall, Dust Bunny is an intensely crowd-pleasing romp through a visually stunning landscape. It’s satisfying, beautiful, and ends up surprising you with how they actually deal with the titular monster.

Dust Bunny releases in theaters on December 5th, 2025.

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